FEBRUARY 2017

Week 8

Orient Aviation - www.orientaviation.com

Mainland China has a new airline. Harbin-based Longjiang Airlines has launched its maiden route to Hefei and Zhuhai and plans to go long-haul to Europe and the U.S. from 2020. In the interim, China’s state-controlled carriers, China Eastern Airlines and China Southern Airlines, have released steep year-on-year traffic gains for January and Xiamen Airlines has launched a Fuzhou-New York JFK B787-9 non-stop service.

Boeing will roll out its B787-10 Dreamliner today, with U.S. president Donald Trump expected to attend the event at the OEM’s Charleston, South Carolina facility, while in Europe ATR is understood to have sealed a 20-aircraft deal with Tehran.

In Vietnam, Vietnam Airlines and LCC subsidiary, Jetstar Pacific, have agreed to substantial sale-and-leaseback agreements to boost their liquidity and in South Korea, Korean Air’s debt-to-equity ratio has ballooned to more than 1,000 times.

In other manufacturer and business updates, Safran shareholders have questioned the planned acquisition of Zodiac Aerospace and Rolls-Royce has posted a record $5.8 billion 2016 loss.

Last year was very good for Connecticut-headquartered engine maker, CFM International, with sales ata “near record” level. It booked 2,677 engine orders: 876 CFM56 engines (commercial, military and spares) and 1,801 LEAP engines (including commitments and spares).Read More »

South Korea's largest carrier, SkyTeam member Korean Air, has posted a full year 2016 net loss of 556.8 billion won (US$485.9 million), a marginal improvement over a net loss of 562.97 billion won in 2015.Read More »

Nepal Airlines’ re-fleeting is a work in progress. After taking delivery of two off-factory A320s in 2015, the flag carrier received two made-in-China AVIC aircraft this month: a 56-seat MA60 and a 17-seat Y-12E.Read More »

Malindo Air, a subsidiary of Indonesia’s Lion Air Group, will launch its first long-haul route next Tuesday, from Kuala Lumpur to Jeddah, building from a twice a week service to daily from March 25 with a B737-900ER.Read More »

"Negotiations with ATR have reached the final stage. The two sides signed the contract to purchase 20 aircraft and we are at the stage of exchanging documents," Iran’s transportation minister, Abbas Akhoundi, told the Iranian Students News Agency this week.Read More »

All Nippon Airways (ANA), a Star Alliance member, on Thursday announced that Osamu Shinobe, its president and CEO, will take up the new position of vice-chairman of the parent organization, ANA HOLDINGS Inc. on April 1.Read More »

Shorttakes

ROUTES: Air China will launch a four-weekly Beijing-Zurich A330-200 flight from June 7, as well as a twice-weekly Beijing-Astana A320 route from June 1.Read More »